


it started with a snap

by LemonYellowFlowers, writerbydesign



Category: The Prom (2020), The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: Coworkers AU, F/F, Gay Disasters, Humor, Lesbian disasters, Office AU, both of them are walking lesbian disasters gaying around, but also like snapple tea au, rom-com ish?, someone please help them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:54:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29141835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonYellowFlowers/pseuds/LemonYellowFlowers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerbydesign/pseuds/writerbydesign
Summary: It starts out as a harmless little excuse.A way for Alyssa to keep speaking to Emma without it being weird. Every day, she buys a bottle of different flavored Snapple tea — or a bottle of Starbucks mocha frappuccino if she needs an extra dose of caffeine — and every day, she asks Emma to open it for her.
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 16
Kudos: 67





	it started with a snap

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first the prom fic so here's to hoping it goes well! special thanks to LemonYellowFlowers for helping me come up with the idea and writing a couple of the scenes and my friend appel for being my beta reader!!! I really appreciate you both A LOT like seriously idk what I would do without you two

It starts out as a harmless little excuse.

A way for Alyssa to talk to Emma, the newly hired copy editor for their little book publishing company, _Passion Press_. When their editor-in-chief, Barry Glickman, first introduced her to the rest of the office, Alyssa was instantly drawn to her. She had felt an instant overbearing urge to get to know Emma better. Maybe it was the shy smile on the blonde’s face when she greeted everyone or the way her hand would instinctively adjust her glasses out of nervous habit. Maybe it was the way her hazel eyes anxiously flitted across the room from person to person but seemed to find purchase on Alyssa’s brown ones. Whatever it was, she was mesmerized.

So she spent the following weeks attempting to start a conversation with Emma which was apparently a lot harder than she initially thought. Sure, they had introduced themselves to each other when they found out that they were deskmates but other than the occasional “hello” and “bye,” they hadn’t really spoken much or _at all_. Alyssa didn’t know what the issue was. It wasn’t like either of them were incapable of making new friends. Alyssa had always prided herself in her ability to welcome new people into her life and become their friend in a short amount of time. As for Emma, she had mostly kept to herself for the first few days but began to open up as time passed. By the end of her second week there, she had made friends with everyone in the company — well, everyone _except_ for Alyssa. She was a little hurt by the possibility that maybe Emma just didn’t want to be her friend and that was why the blonde had yet to make an effort to talk to her. But she still kept trying, regardless.

It’s been officially a month since Emma has started working there now and there’s still no progress on the friendship front. She just doesn’t get it. It’s starting to frustrate her to the point where she has to air out her grievances to Shelby and Kaylee — who are both publicists for the company and her best friends from high school — every day on their lunch break. 

“I honestly don’t understand why it’s taking so long to become her friend.” Alyssa complains, half-heartedly stabbing at her salad.

Shelby raises an eyebrow. “Don’t you think you’re putting _too_ much effort into this? I mean, just talk to her.”

“Yeah! Emma’s pretty nice. She always helps me out whenever the copier jams.” Kaylee interjects. “She’s also really easy to talk to.”

“Easy for _you_ maybe.” Alyssa grumbles petulantly.

Shelby rolls her eyes at the brunette’s response. “Have you considered that maybe the reason why it’s so hard for you to talk her is because you have a fat crush on her and you’re just being a useless lesbian about it?”

“I don’t have a _crush_ on her!” Alyssa hisses, leaning forward in her seat towards Shelby.

“Sure, you don’t.” Shelby replies dryly.

“Alyssa, sweetie, you’ve been telling us all the things you like about her since day one. I think it’s safe to say that you have a crush on her.” Kaylee says gently, agreeing with Shelby.

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“Like how you think her eyes are so beautiful that you melt every time the two of you make eye contact, or how her little smiles never fail to make your stomach do jumping jacks. Like how her laugh is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard in your life, or how it’s incredibly inspiring to see all the progress she’s made even though she’s only been working here for four weeks.” Shelby lists off with a straight face. “Do you want me to go on? Or is that enough evidence for you to see how _gay_ you are for our new co-worker? Because really, I can go on and on about how you think she single-handedly put the stars in the night skies—”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Alyssa places a hand over Shelby’s mouth to cut her off. “I get it, thank _you_.” She quickly yanks her hand back when she feels something wet make contact with her palm. “Did you just _lick_ me?”

“Don’t put your hand over my mouth, especially when I’m trying to eat.” Shelby shrugs.

Alyssa gives Shelby a disgusted look and aggressively wipes her palm on her pants. “Okay, admitting that I have a crush on her doesn’t fix my problem. I still can’t talk to her. I swear it’s like she’s avoiding me or something.”

“I don’t think she can really avoid you if she sits, like, directly across from you. Like you two are about five feet apart at most.” Kaylee points out, her brows furrowing together in question.

“Yeah! But that doesn’t mean she can’t avoid _talking_ to me which I’m honestly convinced is what she’s doing at this point since she seems to be perfectly capable of talking to _everyone else_ in this company!” Alyssa says exasperatedly and throws herself onto the table in a huff, narrowly avoiding all of their food.

“God, you’re so dramatic. Just _talk_ to her. Literally say anything and I mean _anything_.” Shelby gripes, grabbing her plate of chicken alfredo away from the table before Alyssa could squish it.

“Yeah, really ‘Lys, you can even, like, start off talking about the weather or something.” Kaylee offers.

“Ugh, you two are no help at all.”

The rest of their lunch continues on the same way with Shelby and Kaylee encouraging — well, encouraging on Kaylee’s part while Shelby just wants it to end — her to initiate a conversation with Emma. Now she’s back at her desk, staring at the Snapple tea in her hand in contemplation but her attention is quickly diverted when she notices and hears movement coming from Emma’s desk. She looks up and sees the copy editor getting back to her seat, having finished her meeting with their publisher, Dee Dee Allen. She stares at the other woman, studying her. There seems to be a little bit of residual tension in the blonde’s shoulders and face but it soon vanishes as she sits back down at her desk, releasing a breath of relief. The meeting must have gone well.

Alyssa’s eyes trace Emma’s features from her slick back blonde curls to the focused expression on her face. They travel down the length of Emma’s jawline then to her lips that often plagues the brunette’s mind with thoughts that shouldn’t belong to someone who simply wants to befriend her co-worker. Alyssa doesn’t know what it is but there’s this pull that she feels towards Emma. An unwavering and undeniable pull. Like if she doesn’t get to know her then her life would collapse in on itself. It’s a ridiculous feeling and yet, somehow, she can’t help but bend to its wishes. But the thing is, no matter how hard Alyssa tries, she can’t summon enough courage within herself to start talking to Emma. Every opportunity is wasted the moment the blonde is in her sights as an overwhelming sense of nervousness fills her body, making the words she had prepared disappear from her throat. She’s never felt that way about someone before. Never been that anxious around someone before.

Her attention is brought back down to Earth when she hears a familiar voice directed at her. When her vision clears, she sees Emma looking right at her with a questioning expression and her eyes widen in horror as she realizes that she’s been staring at the blonde a lot longer than what is deemed appropriate. Alyssa shakes her head to clear her mind and shoots Emma an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I, uh, just asked if you needed anything since you were, um, staring at me.” Emma explains, returning Alyssa’s smile with a small, awkward one of her own.

Her eyes quickly flash from Emma down to the Snapple in her hand then back to Emma, making up as feasible of an excuse that she can muster on the spot. “Oh! Uh, I was gonna ask if you could open this for me. I’m having some trouble with it.” She waves the tea bottle up, letting out a strained chuckle.

“Oh, sure! Yeah, I can help with that.” Emma nods and moves her palm out so Alyssa can hand the bottle over.

Alyssa gives her the Snapple and mumbles, “Thanks.” It’s then that she makes the split second decision to ensure that their conversation doesn’t die. “So, what do you think of the weather today?”

_Oh my God._ She did not just say that.

Emma stops mid-twist on the bottle cap and looks back up at Alyssa, furrowing her brows in curiosity. “Uhh, it’s still a little too cold for me, honestly.”

“Yeah, totally, me too.” Alyssa stiffly agrees before quickly changing the subject. “How do you like working here so far?”

“I’m actually enjoying it a lot. Everyone here is so welcoming and has been super helpful. They’re all really open to any dumb questions that I might have.”

“That’s good. I’m glad. Well, I’m also happy to answer your questions if you need me to.”

“Oh, thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Yeah, of course, anytime.” Alyssa smiles. “Have you ever worked as a copy editor before?”

Emma nods. “Yeah, but just once. I’m still trying to learn all of the trade secrets behind it as I go.” She pauses. “How’s being a production editor?”

“It’s good. I like it a lot.”

“That’s good.” The conversation tapers off into silence as they stare at each other with shy smiles. Emma glances back down to her hand, remembering that she’s supposed to be opening the Snapple bottle for Alyssa. She finishes twisting it and it pops open. She hands it back to the production editor. “Um, here you go.”

“Thanks again.” Alyssa says with a bigger smile and takes the bottle from Emma.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. If you need me to open any more drinks for you in the future or really help with anything, just let me know. I’m pretty handy with my hands.” Emma’s eyes widen slightly, realizing too late exactly how that sounds.

“I’ll be sure to take you up on that then.” Emma chokes on her own breath. Alyssa looks up sharply, concern crossing her features. Her brow furrows slightly as she plays back the conversation, trying to understand Emma’s reaction. Emma sees the moment Alyssa realizes what she said, sees her eyes widen, sees her mouth open and close several times like she’s trying to find something, _anything_ to say.

Neither of them look the other in the eye.

Emma swiftly turns back to her computer after that, resuming her work while Alyssa is left to her own thoughts. They _talked_. They just had an honest to God conversation that didn’t start and end with one word greetings or goodbyes. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the most _interesting_ conversation she’s ever had but it was a start. She stares down at the now opened Snapple bottle in her hands like it’s the answer to all her problems. Maybe this can work. Maybe this is the key to becoming Emma’s friend.

It starts out as a harmless little excuse.

A way for Alyssa to keep speaking to Emma without it being weird. Every day, she buys a bottle of different flavored Snapple tea — or a bottle of Starbucks mocha frappuccino if she needs an extra dose of caffeine — and every day, she asks Emma to open it for her. From there, they make small talk about their day or projects they’re working on, which eventually turn to longer discussions about their interests, hobbies, and passions. Alyssa learns that Emma likes to play the guitar and dabble in songwriting while Emma learns just how big of a bookworm Alyssa is (which, okay, isn’t _that_ big of a shock considering that they work at a book publishing company) and her secret love for musicals. Their conversations are more natural now and flow without a hitch. There are several occasions where they get so lost in their own little world that they forget that they’re at work and are supposed to be looking over new drafts of different books coming in. 

Somewhere along the line, Alyssa summons enough courage to ask for Emma’s number. Their conversations extend beyond work into the nights and sometimes even into the early mornings. Talking to Emma is easy. Alyssa tells her things that she’s never told anyone before, things that even Shelby and Kaylee don't know about her. There’s just something about the blonde that makes Alyssa want to spill her heart out to her. They talk about everything and anything. Now that they’ve finally gotten over their awkwardness, they just seem to click like two pieces of the same puzzle.

Text messages then turn to friendly lunch dates which turn to spending countless nights over at each other’s places watching shitty rom-coms or binging a new series on _Netflix_ as they cuddle underneath the same blanket. Sometimes they’ll go out to eat dinner but most of the time, they just stay in and order take-out. On other nights, if they’re feeling particularly adventurous, they’ll try to cook for themselves. Neither of them are what you would consider award-winning chefs, so their menu is limited to pasta, chocolate pancakes, and homemade pizzas. A month passes then two then three and by then, Alyssa considers Emma to be one of her best friends, if not her best friend.

Alyssa still asks Emma to open her drinks every time she buys one despite not needing an excuse to talk to her anymore. It’s become a habit of theirs now. It’s so routine to them that it doesn’t matter the time or place, whenever Alyssa gets a bottled drink of any kind, she’ll automatically hand it over to Emma and the copy editor will wordlessly take the drink from her, give it a twist, and then hand it back. Today is no different.

Alyssa sits down at her desk, back from her trip to the vending machine with a bottle of Snapple — mango peach flavored today — in hand and just like always, she gives it to Emma and as always, the other woman opens it for her. This time, when the blonde hands her the drink back, she gives Alyssa a teasing smile though.

“Y’know, you should probably start working out.” There’s a sparkle of mischievousness in Emma’s eyes when she says it.

Alyssa raises an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind being your go-to strong, butch lesbian that opens your drink bottles for you but what are you going to do when I’m not here one day?” Emma replies with a playful smirk.

Alyssa scoffs. “I think I’ll manage.”

“No offense ‘Lys, but I’ve been opening, like, every drink that you get for the past three months. At this point, I think you might break something if you try to open one on your own. I’m surprised that you were able to get them opened before you met me.”

“So you’re saying I’m weak?” Alyssa narrows her eyes in mock challenge.

Emma raises her hands up in surrender, struggling to bite down a smile. “Your words, not mine.”

“I can’t believe you think I’m weak!”

“Hey, don’t blame me. Blame the evidence that suggests your lack of strength.” Emma gives her a shit-eating grin. 

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Aww, I love you too.”

Alyssa’s heart stutters at those words. She knows Emma is just teasing her and doesn’t mean it in any romantic sense whatsoever. But she still can’t help the warmth that spreads through her body and takes root in the deep crevices of her heart at the sound of the blonde’s voice telling her that she loves her. It’s dizzying and addicting all at once. Being Emma’s friend is one of the easiest things Alyssa has ever done. But it’s also one of the hardest. Because she wants to be _more_ than just friends. She wants the dates, the kisses, the declarations of love. She wants them to find different ways to out romance each other, celebrate anniversaries, and even maybe adopt a pet. She wants to fall asleep in her arms and then wake up in them the very next morning. She wants _all_ of it.

But she doesn’t want to ruin what they have. Ruin the friendship that she’s chased after and worked so hard to establish. It would be so easy for it all to come crashing down on her if she adds _feelings_ to the mix. She doesn’t want to lose Emma as a friend. But there’s still an overwhelming urge for _more_. Looking at the smile on Emma’s face right now, Alyssa wants nothing more than to tell her everything. Than to spill her heart and soul. To tell Emma that she loves her too. That she’s _in_ _love_ with her because yes, despite only knowing the blonde for such a short period of time, Alyssa has fallen in love with one Emma Nolan. Freely and willingly. It’s impossible not to.

Instead of saying all of that though, she settles with, “Ugh, whatever. Don’t you have some work to do?”

“But this is so much more fun.”

“I’m not _weak_.” Alyssa whines.

“I’ll believe it when I see it!” Emma argues with mirth in her eyes.

Alyssa shakes her head. “I’m ignoring you now.” She says in a sing-songy voice, looking back at her computer.

Emma chuckles before mimicking her deskmate, “You’re just upset because you know I’m rightttt.”

It isn’t until a week later that Alyssa makes Emma eat her words.

The morning starts off normal just like any other. The copy editor is already at her desk when Alyssa shows up to work that day and as soon as Emma spots her, everything seems to go in slow-motion. Because Alyssa is wearing a blouse, specifically a _short sleeved_ blouse. A short sleeved blouse that shows off her _very muscular and toned arms_. She has never once seen Alyssa with short sleeves on before, even when they’re in the comforts of their own apartments — the brunette always opting for a hoodie and sweatpants anytime Emma offers a change of clothes from her work attire. At some point, she started to believe that Alyssa’s entire wardrobe is only made up of long sleeve shirts, sweaters, and dresses. But here she is. In a blouse. With short sleeves. 

Suddenly, the only thing in Emma’s vision is _arms, arms, arms_.

Her mouth parts slightly as her eyes widen just a fraction, completely stunned by the sight of Alyssa in a _short sleeved_ blouse approaching her. She feels her throat dry up and finds it hard to breathe properly. Her eyes are glued on Alyssa’s arms. She knows that all she’s doing is torturing herself by continuing to look at them but it’s practically _impossible_ to avert her gaze.

She almost misses the wave and smile that Alyssa sends her way as a greeting when she finally makes it over to her desk. “Hey!”

“You’re not wearing long sleeves.” Emma dazedly blurts out.

“Uh?” Alyssa’s brows furrow up in confusion before she looks down at herself. “Oh yeah. Well, we’re slowly approaching summer weather so I don’t need to wear long sleeves anymore.”

“Oh.”

“Are you okay? You look a little out of it.” The brunette asks.

It takes all of Emma's willpower to shift her eyes from the production editor’s arms up to her face. She gives Alyssa a strained smile and squeaks out, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just _distracted_ but I’m okay now.”

She is, in fact, _not_ okay now.

Actually, she stays _not okay_ for the rest of the day, completely out of it. Everywhere she goes and anytime she does _anything_ , her mind flashes back to Alyssa in short sleeves. It doesn’t help that said friend sits directly across from Emma, right within her sights for the better part of the day. She’s reminded by the other woman’s outfit every time she looks away from her computer and her eyes are instantly pulled to Alyssa. She stutters her way through conversations with her deskmate and blanks out on conversations with everyone else in the office. With every flash of golden brown skin as Alyssa passes by her, Emma drops something new — and one of those things happens to be her scorching cup of coffee.

She makes it to the end of the day with a big brown stain on her white dress shirt and barely any of her dignity left. But she survived. At least that’s what she’s thinking until she feels arms wrap around her right arm and one Alyssa Greene is pressing her side against Emma’s as she gets ready to leave their office. The blonde looks down to see Alyssa grinning up at her and she feels her heart skip a beat. They start to walk back to Emma’s apartment together because it’s near and there’s no need for a car while Alyssa rambles on about their dinner plans. For Emma though, all she can focus on is the other woman’s _very_ exposed arms pressing against her own coat covered arm. She swears she can still feel Alyssa’s bare skin though, even through the fabric and she suddenly feels dizzy all over again.

She thinks that maybe she won’t survive after all.

Thankfully, Emma makes it home in one piece. _Barely_. She’s still extremely distracted by Alyssa and her arms but she’s at least regained enough composure to act somewhat like a normal human being. Not like the mess she was all day today. She’s no longer a blubbering idiot or clumsy fool so that’s a major step up.

Emma is currently in her kitchen, searching through her cabinets for the spaghetti noodles needed for tonight’s dinner since the two of them have decided to be daring and cook. She finally finds the noodles in the cabinet above her stove but the box of spaghetti clatters to the ground the moment she turns around to place them on the kitchen counter. Her breath comes out strangled and she chokes on air as her heart comes to a complete standstill. Alyssa is standing in her kitchen while wearing an oversized white t-shirt and shorts. 

Alyssa is wearing _Emma’s_ oversized t-shirt and shorts.

When they first entered her apartment, she had changed clothes first so that she could get a head start on preparing dinner. Carelessly, she had told Alyssa to look through her clothes cabinet and pick out whatever clothes she wanted as Emma headed to the kitchen. Blissfully unaware of her fatal error. She didn’t think anything was going to be worse than the short sleeved blouse from earlier today but she was so, _so_ wrong. Because this is a hundred times worse than anything she can possibly imagine. Emma’s eyes immediately travel from Alyssa’s still _beautifully toned_ arms down to her now exposed and equally _beautifully toned_ legs. She feels something in her break.

It’s then that her resolve crumbles. The feeling of seeing Alyssa Greene in _her_ clothes, specifically _those_ clothes, is absolutely indescribable and unfathomable. It only takes Emma two big strides across her kitchen to reach the brunette.

“Hey, are you ok—”

Emma pins her against the kitchen counter and covers her mouth with her own before Alyssa can finish her question. The production editor lets out a muffled noise of surprise which soon turns into a moan. Emma stiffens at the sound and instantly pulls back when her brain finally catches up with her actions.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Well, I mean I _did_ but not like that and—”

Alyssa quickly cuts her ramblings off by dragging her back into another searing kiss after removing Emma’s glasses and putting them to the side. She frantically tangles one of her hands into the curls of Emma’s hair while the other finds purchase on the back of her neck. Alyssa kisses her back with the same urgency that Emma had kissed her with earlier. It’s hot and desperate and not at all sweet like how first kisses should go. Instead it’s a release of pent up tension that the two of them have kept inside themselves for the past three months. It’s like a dam has burst and there’s no way to block it up again. 

All Alyssa can hear, smell, see, and feel is Emma. Her brain chants her name over and over again in her head, completely intoxicated: _Emma. Emma. Emma_.

She lets out a gasp and roughly pulls at Emma’s hair when the blonde abruptly grips her thighs, lifting her onto the kitchen counter. Emma immediately takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, brushing her tongue into Alyssa’s open mouth as the other woman wraps her legs around the blonde’s waist. Their bodies are flushed together but it’s still not enough and they press into each other further still. Everything is just white noise. But it’s perfect.

The two eventually part when the need for oxygen outweighs their need to kiss. They rest their foreheads against one another, sharing the same air. Emma opens her eyes first and watches Alyssa’s face as their chests rise and fall in sync. They lock eyes the moment Alyssa opens hers and all the emotions swirling around inside Emma is reflected back to her in Alyssa’s deep brown eyes. There’s no moment of panic or regret. Rather, there’s relief. There’s an unspoken sense of clarity between them, knowing without a doubt that they’re going to be okay. That the kiss they just shared isn’t a mistake or an end to anything. But instead, a beginning.

Matching smiles slowly spread across their faces because everything feels _right_. They linger there for a few moments longer in silence, staring at each other. Basking in their shared happiness and simply enjoying each other’s presence.

Emma is the one that breaks the quiet. “So, you’re not weak. Or you _are_ weak but also happen to have very toned muscles on your arms and legs because I still don’t really understand how you can’t open drink bottles if you _aren’t_ weak.”

Alyssa lets out a light and airy chuckle. “So about _that_.” She bites her bottom lip to prevent her smile from getting bigger before slowly saying, “I may have used that as an excuse to start talking to you.”

“What?” Emma pulls back a little, furrowing her brows.

“Yeah, so I’ve had a huge crush on you pretty much the moment you, like, joined the company.” Alyssa blushes at the admission, giving Emma a sheepish smile. “Anyways, I had _no_ idea how to talk to you so, um, I used not being able to open my Snapple tea as an excuse to initiate a conversation.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that you’ve been perfectly capable of opening your own drinks this entire time but you just made me do it instead?”

Alyssa nods and shrugs. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“I can’t believe this relationship is built on lies.” Emma replies in mock outrage.

“Oh, whatever. Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy being the stronger one out of the two of us.” Alyssa rolls her eyes.

“Hey, that’s up for debate. Maybe I'm still the stronger one, you don’t know that.”

“Sure, babe. Sure.”

Emma’s heart flutters at the term of endearment but refusing to give up on her act, she gasps in exaggerated offense. “You don’t believe me? I can prove it to you! What do you want me to do?”

Alyssa smirks, slowly leaning towards her. “I can think of _several_ things that you can be doing right now.” She places a hand on Emma’s cheek and pulls her into a slow and languid kiss. It only lasts for a few seconds but it’s enough to put her in a daze.

“ _Oh_.” Emma says when they separate, her voice breathless. “Yeah, I think I like your better idea– I mean, your idea is better.” Her words come out slightly wrong because her brain is completely distracted by Alyssa being so close to her. It’s like it’s slower this time, Emma is aware of each part of herself that is close to Alyssa and—

"Em?"

Emma blinks a few times, brought back to earth by Alyssa who is looking at her with amusement in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah?" Alyssa just shakes her head, grabbing Emma's hand and pulling her over to the couch. Emma keeps her eyes firmly on the back of Alyssa's head before muttering. 

"Remind me to send a gift basket to the CEO of Snapple as a thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> please feel free to leave some comments below and tell me your thoughts!!!!


End file.
